Looking Back on 2021: This Year in Writing

This year was a tough year for a lot of people, myself included. 2020 was tough, too, but I spent most of 2021 working from home, which can be quite challenging. It was hard, sometimes, to think that I wasn't getting enough done - wasn't being productive enough. And no matter how hard you work, when you have lots of projects and big dreams, it seems that feeling will always pop up throughout the year. 

That's why I enjoy this exercise so much. Being able to look back on everything that I've accomplished makes me realize that I was productive enough and that I did do enough. Everything adds up, and looking back on everything I did this year gives me a big boost moving into the new year. 

Note: Projects that are mentioned throughout the year include:

👉 Apartment, a novella [Purchase]

👉 101 Writing Prompts digital workbook [Purchase] [Sample]

👉 The Beast of Ildenwood serial fiction [Read free on RR] [Read free on Blog]

👉 Murder in Heliopolis serial fiction [Read free on RR]

 

Here's what I was able to accomplish this year.

 

 

JANUARY

• Jan 3: Apartment Cover Reveal 🎊
• Jan 12: Apartment launch 🎊

 

FEBRUARY

• Feb 1: "Apollo's Directives" short story
  
• Feb 2: "Brief History of a Necklace" short story
• Feb 3: "The Lighthouse" short story (unreleased)
  
• Feb 24: Article - Aliens & Artificial Intelligence: An Analysis of David8
• Feb 25: Article - AI in Publishing
  
• Feb 26: Article - 2021 Publishing & Books Trends: Digital Platforms and the Growth of eBooks
• Feb 28: On brutalist architecture in Apartment
  

 

MARCH

• Mar 4: Neon Vape Worldbuilding: Gaming Glasses to Eliminate Eye Strain 
• Mar 5: Goodreads author blog up and running 🎊 
  
• Mar 5: First edit of French translation of "The Legend of the Sleeping Massacre" complete 🎊
• Mar 6: The Falcon's Claw introduction
• Mar 6: Neon Vape Worldbuilding: Digital Twins
• Mar 17: S01E26 On Procrastination & New Projects transcript
• Mar 18: Q&A - The Most Fulfilling Character to Write
• Mar 20: Character Backstories Vol. 1 - Ruda & Bor
• Mar 27: Lit Commentary: Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, Chapter 1
• Mar 27: Character Backstories Vol. 2 - Kutsila & Valorius
  
• Mar 27: 101 Writing Prompts digital workbook launch 🎊

 

APRIL

• Apr 1: Hyba Is Writing: The Podcast Season 2 launch 🎊
• Apr 1: S02E01 Reintroducing The Pirates of Sissa
  
• Apr 2: Lit Commentary: Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, Chapter 2
• Apr 2: "A Sorcerer's Calling" prompt fill
• Apr 3: Character Backstories Vol. 3 - Krig & Alex
• Apr 9: Started writing untitled epistolary gothic novel (3,619 words)
  
• Apr 10: Character Backstories Vol. 4 - Lucius & Qays
• Apr 20: The Beast of Ildenwood introduction
  
• Apr 20: Fantasy map of Ildenwood Forest for The Beast of Ildenwood released 🎨
• Apr 20: 'Heart's Temple' - poem (unreleased)
• Apr 21: The Beast of Ildenwood Worldbuilding & Illustration: The Feral Lepur 🎨
• Apr 22: The Beast of Ildenwood - Prologue 
• Apr 24: The Beast of Ildenwood Worldbuilding & Illustration: The Lydiadem 🎨
• Apr 25: The Beast of Ildenwood - 1. Flaming Lungs & Foreign Tongues
• Apr 29: Character Backstories Vol. 5 - The Manager & Governor Bor's Wife
• Apr 30: 'The Black' - poem (unreleased)

 

 

MAY

• May 1: Newsletter discontinued 🔚
  
• May 2: The Beast of Ildenwood - 2. A Dying Man
• May 5: Character Backstories Vol. 6 - Juda & Eli
  
• May 9: The Beast of Ildenwood - 3. The Feral Lepur
• May 12: Character Backstories Vol. 7 - Mila & Sahra 
• May 13: Lit Commentary: Apartment, Number 2 - I See You
• May 16: The Beast of Ildenwood - 4. Return to Samat
• May 19: Character Backstories Vol. 8 - Faris & James
• May 20: Article - Reading for Pleasure in 2021 and Beyond
• Mar 20: 'Agent of justice' - poem (unreleased)
• Writing course design and planning (unreleased)

 

JUNE

• Jun 8: 'Canyon Waterway' snippet (unreleased)
• Jun 8: 'Snapper Dorsa' snippet (unreleased)
• Jun 17: S02E02 Rewrites and Flashcarding
• Jun 21: Q&A - Why Am I Rewriting The Pirates of Sissa?
• Jun 21: S02E03 The Black Desert - Could You Survive?
  
• Jun 23: S02E04 Sorranids - An Unexpected Savior
• Wrote 26,457 words for Marie/Elise 🎊

 

 

JULY

• Jul 3: "Diadem of Sorrows" prompt fill
• Jul 5: Letters to Adam - 1. In Baltia
• Jul 15: Letters to Adam - 2. An Abandoned Mosque
  
• Jul 26: Apartment Literary Companion launch (+Apartment website launch) 🎊
• Jul 30: Started working on creepy suspense, working title 'Intruder'
  

 

 

AUGUST

• Aug 2: Marie/Elise character introduction - Adrian White
• Aug 3: The Beast of Ildenwood Worldbuilding & Illustration - Dikralibre Potion 🎨
• Aug 8: The Beast of Ildenwood - 5. Deletrear the Spellcaster
• Aug 14: The Beast of Ildenwood Worldbuilding & Illustration - Unique Attributes 🎨
• Aug 15: The Beast of Ildenwood - 6. Unfortunate Intruders
  
• Aug 21: The Beast of Ildenwood Worldbuilding & Illustration - Map of Miraya 🎨

 

 

SEPTEMBER

• Sept 5: 'Yellow haze' - poem
• Sept 6: The Beast of Ildenwood Worldbuilding & Illustration - Mental Drains 🎨
• Sept 6: The Beast of Ildenwood - 7. Unconscious Flashes of Memory
• Sept 6: The Beast of Ildenwood - 8. A Particularly Nasty Drain
• Sept 12: The Beast of Ildenwood - 9. Nobles & Guardians
• Sept 21: The Beast of Ildenwood - 10. Cracking Bones and Soundless Homes
  

 

 

OCTOBER

• Published in Lucky Jefferson's Aria No. 8 🎊
• Oct 10: The Beast of Ildenwood - 11. The War, the Guardian, and the Artifact
• Oct 16: The Beast of Ildenwood Worldbuilding & Illustration - The Ruins of Ateeq 🎨
• Oct 17: The Beast of Ildenwood - 12. A Delicate Situation
• Oct 22: Apartment Interview with Etta Grace 🎊
• Oct 24: The Beast of Ildenwood Worldbuilding & Illustration - Zerban 🎨
  
• Oct 24: The Beast of Ildenwood - 13. A Village Neglected
• Oct 31: The Beast of Ildenwood - 14. The Traitors Among Us
  
• Oct 31: Murder in Heliopolis - 1. The All-Seeing Eye of PATET [RR]
  

 

 

NOVEMBER

• Nov 1-30: NaNoWriMo (unofficial participant) (Murder in Heliopolis) - Successfully completed at 50k+ words! 🎊
• Nov 1-30: RR Writathon (official participant) Weeks 1-4 (Murder in Heliopolis)
• Nov 1: Murder in Heliopolis - 2. A Visit to Greenland Farm [RR]
• Nov 2: Murder in Heliopolis - 3. Nymphaeales on the Floats [RR]
• Nov 3: Murder in Heliopolis - 4. Cassia Grove's Slate [RR] 
• Nov 4: Murder in Heliopolis - 5. Underwater Dining at Aquarius [RR]
• Nov 6: Murder in Heliopolis - 6. Expedition to the Ruins [RR]
• Nov 7: Murder in Heliopolis - 7. The Gunman in the Rubble [RR]
• Nov 8: The Beast of Ildenwood - 15. To Perish by Fire
  
• Nov 9: Murder in Heliopolis - 8. The Office Unsealed, A Threat Revealed [RR]
• Nov 10: Murder in Heliopolis - 9. Meetings With Invidia [RR]
• Nov 12: Murder in Heliopolis - 10. Crime Runs In Their Blood [RR]
• Nov 12: Murder in Heliopolis - 11. Aster Lockwood's Slate [RR]
• Nov 12: Murder in Heliopolis - 12. PATET, Cerebrum of Heliopolis [RR]
• Nov 13: Murder in Heliopolis - 13. Corporate Secrets Among the Farms [RR]
• Nov 14: Murder in Heliopolis - 14. The Bone Bouquet Cafe and Eatery [RR]
• Nov 14: The Beast of Ildenwood - 16. Enter the Son of the King
  
• Nov 15: Murder in Heliopolis - 15. One of Two, But Who Is Who? [RR]
• Nov 16: Murder in Heliopolis - 16. A Rogue Comes Out of the Woodwork [RR]
• Nov 20: Murder in Heliopolis - 17. The Erasure of Information [RR]
  
• Nov 21: Murder in Heliopolis - 18. A Hospital Room Interrogation [RR]
• Nov 25: Murder in Heliopolis - 19. Destruction of Evidence [RR]
• Nov 25: Murder in Heliopolis - 20. Interview with Patina Grove [RR]
  
• Nov 27: Murder in Heliopolis - 21. A Story of Betrayal [RR]
  
• Nov 29: Murder in Heliopolis - 22. Implausible and Impossible to Prove [RR]
  

 

 

DECEMBER

• Dec 1-5: RR Writathon Week 5 (Murder in Heliopolis) - Successfully completed at 55,555+ words! 🎊
• Dec 3: Murder in Heliopolis - 23. Pulling Strings [RR]
  
• Dec 4: Murder in Heliopolis - 24. A False Man's Truth [RR] 
• Dec 13: Started plotting out dark isekai WIP, currently untitled 
• Dec 15: Started scripting psychological horror graphic novel [in]Sanity
  
• Dec 19: Started writing vampire horror WIP, currently titled Monstrosity (5264 words)
  
• Dec 29: New shop page added to blog
  
• Dec 29: Apartment & 101 Writing Prompts back on shop! 🎊
• Dec 29: Started scripting interactive horror exploration game I Am Alone
  
• Dec 30: Murder in Heliopolis - 25. Hollow Walls [RR]
  

 

 

Whew! What a year! 

I always enjoy writing yearly reviews because it leaves me feeling very accomplished and happy with myself, no matter how much I've gotten done. It's a great reminder that I've completed more than I thought I did, and that's a great motivational boost moving into the new year. So, this end-of-year, I'm feeling very grateful and content.

I'll be sharing another post about my goals for the new year, and hopefully those are goals that I can stick to! 

 

~⭐~

Check out my psychological thriller Apartment. Add it to your TBR on Goodreads!

Looking for a writing prompt workbook? Check out 101 Writing Prompts.